Viktor Troicki, Simon to Meet in Thailand Open Final

BANGKOK (AP) Viktor Troicki of Serbia upset defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 Saturday to reach the Thailand Open final.

The fourth-seeded Troicki will face Gilles Simon of France, who beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the other semifinal.

Tsonga, ranked No. 7 and seeded No. 1, unraveled after easily winning the first set. He dropped serve twice in each of the following two sets.

"It's great to beat a top-10 (player). I played great," said the 32nd-ranked Troicki. "First set, I didn't have any chance. Then I raised my game a bit."

Troicki will be trying for his first career title when he faces Simon, who has beaten him in two previous matches.

The second-seeded Simon had eight aces and won 72 percent of the points on his own serve, showing no sign of a previous knee injury.

"When I got on court, I knew I could play," Simon said. "I'm ready to fight for every point."

Simon led 5-3 in the first set when Melzer sent a backhand long, and wrapped it up after Melzer hit a forehand return into the net.

There were no service breaks in the second set, and Simon closed it out on his second match point with a backhand down the line.